How I Am Finishing My Twenties

I like to think that I'm not dramatic.  I admit that I am finishing my twenties in dramatic fashion. 

Thursday I traveled up to Durham to see the musical Wicked.  I love the show.  Last year I saw Wicked in the front row for my birthday.  This year I was a bit farther away but the costumes, music and story line are the best regardless of how close or far away you sit.  

After the show I was going to stay with a friend in Cary.  My phone died during the show so I couldn't call and let her know when I was coming but we had decided beforehand that she would leave the light on and the door open.  I got to the house and the lights were out...and the door locked.  I got my wall charger and crawled around her porch to find an outlet but no luck.  Then her neighbor came out and saw me on the porch creeping around.  I feared they might call the cops--it is Cary!  After debating sleeping on the porch, I ended up driving to another friends and asking "Can I crash on your couch?"  I suppose everyone in their twenties should ask that question once?  

On Friday I drove to Richmond to celebrate with my best friend.  She is welcoming twins, Garrett and Peyton.  The shower was a Noah's Ark theme.  It was a blast and I have to admit that I am a fabulous house elf.  I can clean up with the best of them.   I was so good at my house elf duties to get ready for the shower I was being called "Dobi."  (Think Harry Potter).  

Fruit Babies!  I didn't make this but it is soooo cute! 

Me and my favorite little girl in Richmond.  

Me and my bestie!  She doesn't even look prego! 

And this is where the story starts to get good.  I left Richmond to go to my birthday party with my friends in the Raleigh.  They are the best and because I missed celebrating the Kentucky Derby with them (one of my favorite events), they threw a delay Derby party for me.  The food was fantastic!

These are the leftovers.  I forgot to take a picture of the good stuff! 

At about midnight, I was getting ready to crash at my friend's place. I had to drive back to Salisbury early the next morning.  I ran out to my car with Cam to get my suitcase.  I fell asleep and  not expecting any drama...was I wrong! 

I work up at 5:45am, got ready and quickly realized that I didn't have my car key.  I looked everywhere.  I had really only been in one room.  Where could they be?  By 6:30, I still hadn't found them.  I had to wake up Cam and we both began looking until about 7:15am.  Finally, I had to take Cam's truck to Salisbury so I wouldn't be late for work.  

 

NOTE: While I was driving to Salisbury I went through the McDonalds drive-thru to get a diet coke.  The woman in front of me, parked her car in the line and got out of her car to get her purse out of her trunk.  If you have to park your car, DONT GO IN THE DRIVE-THRU!  I was not pleasant.  

Monday morning I had to drive back to Raleigh to return Cam's truck.  I drove to the dealership.  They gladly ordered a new key for me, but....it will not be ready to til Tuesday.  And the kicker is that I had to have my car towed to the dealership to have the key programmed.  

Despite our best efforts to find the key, I had no luck and had to spend one more night in Raleigh.  This morning I woke up and used my AAA membership to tow the car, waited for the key to arrive in a manufacturer's shipment.  Thankfully by 10am I was on my way to Salisbury with my keys and my car.  

Oh and this morning a latte was spilled on my iphone.  

Here's hoping that my thirties are far less eventful and full of super fun shoes! 

Couldn't resist the pink 

A b-day gift from my best friend

Welcome to the Mess

This past Sunday I was installed as the Minister for Youth and Outreach at St. John's Lutheran Church in Salisbury.  Moving into a new season of ministry was not an easy decision for me, but the possibility of the new season outweighs my fears. And so I was installed.  The service was beautiful and included a soloist, string quartet and lots of prayers! 


Pastor Rhodes shared in the sermon that God's story begins in the chaos and issued the invitation, "Welcome to the Mess."  You can listen to the sermon here.


Here are some pictures from the festivities. I will have more soon! 

The reception was amazing and included lots of sweets--including my favorite Red Velvet  Cupcakes. 

My parents were able to come and visit from Ohio. It was so special to share this day with them. 

Pastor Jan and Pastor Rhodes serve at St. John's. I am excited to partner with them in ministry. 

A huge thanks to Cam and Kat for celebrating with me too!  

My New Home

Well, I have settled into my new home in Salisbury, NC.  It is funny that I have moved to Salisbury and am having a taste of urban living.  I have rented a loft in downtown.  I am a mere two blocks from the office and have enjoyed walking to work.  There are plenty of shops, restaurants and two theaters that I can walk to and enjoy.  


A huge thanks for Cam, James, Scott, Christina, Ann, Rhodes, Krista, Carter, Matthew and Anna for helping move all my stuff into my new place.  Upon arriving Cameron's first reaction was, "Danielle, you aren't cool enough for this place."  I admit that the place is cooler than me, but I am hoping I will grow into it!  


Here are  few pictures of my new place.  (Mom, sorry! I didn't clean up before I took the pictures). 

My room.  The only downfall is that it is only a block from the train tracks.  Who knew the Amtrak was so loud!  

Do you see my giant windows? 

Yes. I know the curtains are two short but every doorway so so tall.  One of my porches is off the eating area. 

The kitchen 

The exposed duct work on my 12ft. ceilings

My place also has two porches.  There isn't a pretty view (mainly building tops) but it is so nice to sit outside and enjoy a cup of tea.  

The Goodbye

I think I laughed the whole time! 

I could not have asked for a better goodbye.  


My CTK was so faithful in celebrating and reflecting with me over the last six and half years of ministry together.  The night was a perfect combination of laughter, prayer and thanksgiving.  Many thanks to Scott, Peggy and Mark for making it all happen!  And to Chris for cooking my favorite meal--which included lima beans!  

Bill certainly entertained the crowd with his quoting Whitney Houston and story about hearing There is a Balm in Gilead during my sermon.  

Richard stole the night by ending his speech with, "I am going to end the way any civil engineer would...with a poem.  What?  You don't think civil engineers can write poetry?"  Richard did write a poem that captured all the ministry I have been involved in the last few years.  

Scott is simply the best.  He did however share some secrets--like the time I broke the chair at the movies.  I was so moved by his comments about how I have continually reminded this community that they are children of God. 

When given the opportunity to share, words seem to pale in comparison to what is my heart.  Yet, this is what I want everyone in my CTK family to know:  

I can remember the first time I put on a pastoral collar.  I was in the bathroom of Cokesbury bookstore trying on the black shirt with the white collar tab.  I laughed, trembled a bit and took it off quickly.  I wasn’t sure that the reflection looking back at me fit. 

And so began my journey as Vicar K.  I am daily thankful for the opportunity to have served as an intern at Christ the King.  While many of my peers where glorified youth ministers in their internships, you trusted me with much more.  You trusted me with youth bible study, with preaching, with pastoral care, and teaching.  I was able to “try on” the collar while at the same time explore diaconal ministry. 

Soon I would trade the collar for a basin and towel finding my place in the ELCA as a consecrated diaconal minister.  I will never forget having my feet washed and being given this charge, “serve the needy, care for the sick, comfort the distressed, and, through words and actions, witness faithfully to God's love for all people. Cross every barrier that stands between the church and its ministry in the world. Seek out those places where the gospel of Jesus Christ meets the world's need. Empower, equip, and support all the baptized in the ministry of Jesus Christ. Lead us all in proclaiming the gospel in witness and service. And be of good courage, for God has called you, and your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” By God’s grace and through your love and support this is a charge I am striving to embody. 

Early in my ministry you gave me the greatest gift—the freedom to discover me, to discover my gifts and where the God might use them for God’s glory.  It is in your midst I found me.

I knew my time as vicar wouldn’t last forever and was overfilled with joy as an offer to join the staff full-time was made.  I looked forward to my first “real” job with excitement and a healthy dose of idealism. 

And then cancer came.  I am not sure what is worse, being told you have cancer at 25 or having to call your parents and tell them.  I remember it so clearly.  I left the doctor’s office knowing that my world have changed but having no idea what that change would mean for me or my calling.  I drove to Starbucks (Yes, Chai Lattes soothe the soul) and read through the book of Jonah.  The story of this runaway prophet spoke to the depths of my soul and assured me, “You can’t run from God.  Cancer doesn’t have the power to destroy God’s rare, relentless grace.” 

And then I came to church.  It was Ash Wednesday.  A sobering day to discover you have cancer.  We are dust and to dust we will return. 

Within ten days I had gone from hearing I had cancer to surgery and recovery.  I have shared many times that I couldn’t pray during that time.  In fact, it was probably months before I was really able to pray.  It may have been anger, shock or despair, likely a combination of all three but I couldn’t pray.  

During this time, I believe with all my heart, you sat Shiva with me.  In the Jewish tradition, after a death, the community comes and says prayers with the grieving.  The grieving isn’t forced to pray the words.  They are merely reminded by their community and their voices that they are not alone.  One day, when the grieving is ready, their voices will join those of their faithful community and rejoicing will return. 

When I couldn’t pray, I know that you prayed for me.  When I couldn’t rejoice, you rejoiced for me.  And you never left me.  You loved me with calls and cards and episodes of the Carol Burnett Show.  I couldn’t speak the words early on. I wasn’t ready, but you stood in the gap, sat shiva with me.  And after four months, I rejoiced with you.  I joined your prayers and was restored. 

I think this is the season I fell in love with Christ the King. 

Yet the thing that makes me most proud of this community and the ministry we have shared at Christ the King has been your willingness to partner in mission.  Over our six and a half years together, I have seen the conversations move beyond merely talking about loving our neighbor to putting our faith in action.  You have fed the hungry, you have clothed the naked, you have welcomed the stranger, you have struggled for justice and sought to make peace in broken places. 

Nowhere has this been more clear than in our ministry with Chile.  I remember so clearly when Francis, a worker in the school, said, “You came as strangers and now you are our friends.”  And with the bishop of the Lutheran Church in Chile (IELCH) when asked what we could do for them replied, “Continue to bring people.  When they come they realize that we aren’t statistics or the other but children of God.”  These beautiful children of God have captured our hearts in significant and life-giving ways.  To the teams I have traveled with, I am inspired by your courage, your risk-taking and your selfless love.  And CTK family, even if you haven’t traveled with us, you have welcomed the Chilean people into our lives here.  You have heard their stories firsthand from our missionary, Karen Anderson.  You have seen their faces every time you walked into Nagle Narthex.  You have prayed, donated, followed along on the journey.  My hope is that the Chilean people will always hold a place in this congregation’s heart. 

After six and half years of life-giving partnership in ministry, of finding me, of being buoyed during cancer, and joined in justice work, a new season for me begins.   Saying goodbye is certainly tinged with sadness, but also hope and anticipation, for both us.  I am looking forward to hearing the stories of how God is pushing you to become the congregation God is calling you to be.  And to see what the next season holds for me.  Wherever I find myself on my journey, know that you have forever shaped my heart and God’s ministry through me. 

Thank you.  

God's Love and Mine, 

Danielle Kathryn 

My Final Sermon

As I packed up my office my last week at Christ the King, I found my very first sermon I preached. Shocker. It was on the Old Testament.  And my final sermon was no different.  I love the Old Testament and loved that I was a part of a faith community that welcomed these ancient stories and allowed them to shape our lives.  

It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye

When I was in fifth grade, a boy named Andy, stood on the stage of our elementary school auditorium and sang the Boys II Men classic, Its So Hard to Say Goodbye.  It seemed so poignant as we were about to leave the safety of elementary school for the complicated, hormone-infused, and dramatic halls of middle school.  The goodbyes didn’t stop there.  There were goodbyes at our HS graduation, from summer camp, from college.  Our stories are littered with goodbyes.  Some goodbyes are welcomed, some are painful, some goodbyes are too soon and others seem to be in perfect time. 

On this Sunday, on which I say my goodbyes to you, our Old Testament lesson recounts a poignant goodbye as well.  I swear I didn’t pick this lesson.  I admit that if left up to my own devices, I would have probably chosen an easier passage, one that didn’t name the goodbye so clearly.  Yet, the ironic Spirit of God had different plans.  And today, we enter into goodbye, not only for us, but for Elijah and Elisha. 

Elijah had a storied history in Israel, marked by the swing from great highs to hiding in caves fighting off depression.  Along the way Elijah recruits Elisha as his successor.  Elisha becomes student, friend, servant, sidekick.   Regardless of the journeys that proceeded this morning’s text, today’s journey is different.  It is laced with the reality of goodbye.  And Elisha seems the only one unwilling to name it.

Elijah mentions three times, “I am only supposed to go this far.” 

The prophetic community remarks three times, “You know your master is leaving you.” 

And with each remark Elisha responds the same, “Shh. We are not talking about this.” 

Although he is a prophet, a well-respected religious leader, a spokesperson for God, he is so much like you and I.  He is more comfortable avoiding goodbye, focused on the hole that is left, wondering where God is in all of this. 

This story isn’t only Elisha’s story.  It is Peter’s story too.  Remember the conversation around the dinner table at the Passover meal.  Jesus, much like Elijah, says, “I am only going this far.  This is the end.”  And Peter, much like Elisha, answers with a bold and naïve, “No. I will never leave you.”  “Shh…We’re not talking about this. “

Although on Elisha’s journey, he could only find the words, “Keep Silent.”  Elijah knew that the silence would not bring about the work of God.  And so Elijah and Elisha journey.   It is the same journey that Moses made.  The same trek that Joshua made before entering the Promised Land.  A journey that takes them through the anointed place known as Bethel, the site of the great battle in Jericho and then ultimately to the waters.  And like Moses, Elijah parts the seas.  And on dry ground they walked to the other side of the Jordan.  

Having walked through a miracle itself, Elijah asks his student “What can I do for you?” 

Rev. Martin Copenhaver muses, “Elisha must have been tossed into a whirlwind of possible responses:’ What do I need?  I need to know how I can carry on.  I need to know how I can be a prophet, when everything I know I learned from you and you are about to leave.  I need to know how to be a leader, because all I know is how to follow.  I need to know what to say when people turn to listen to the prophet of the Lord, and they mean me! I need you to stay.’  What Elisha ends up saying is ‘Please leave me a double dose of your spirit.’ Elisha assumes that he is half the man Elijah is and that he will need twice his master’s spirit just to break even.”

Rev. Sam Well, former Dean of Duke Chapel, writes of Elisha adds, “There isn’t a large vocabulary for such goodbyes. And Elisha isn’t just facing the loss of Elijah.  He’s facing the inheritance.”  Elijah's leaving would mean something new for Elisha.  Yet, Elijah knows something that Elisha lacks.  Elijah knows that God moves through goodbyes to empower a new generation in ministry.  Elisha is looking back and wondering, “how can it possibly get better?”  Elijah is looking ahead knowing that the best days are yet to come. 

It is no different with the disciples.  Jesus, Peter, Andrew and John climb a mountain together today.  The experience a miraculous encounter with resurrection and the voice of God.  As many have called it, it is a mountaintop experience.  One of the moments you find yourself longing to return.  As Jesus hung on the cross and disciples were scattered and locked away in fear, I can’t help but wonder if they said, “Now what.  How could it possibly get better than the mountain?”  And Jesus is looking ahead and knowing that the best days are yet to come. 

Back in the early years of email, when everyone had an AOL address, I used to receive lots of inspirational stories and email forwards and this week I kept thinking about an email that was circulating about forks.  

A woman was diagnosed with a terminal illness and given three months to live. She asked her Pastor to come to her home to discuss her final wishes. She told him which songs she wanted sung at her funeral, and what scriptures she wanted read, and which outfit she wanted to be buried in. Then she said, “One more thing… I want to be buried with a fork in my hand.” The pastor was surprised.

The woman explained, “In all my years of attending church socials and potluck dinners, I always remember that when the dishes of the main course were being cleared, someone would inevitably say to everyone, ‘Keep your fork.’ It was my favorite time of the dinner, because I knew something better was coming, like velvety chocolate cake or deep dish apple pie – something wonderful. So, I want people to see me there in that casket with a fork in my hand and wonder, “What’s with the fork?” Then, I want you to tell them, “Keep your fork, because the best is yet to come.”

The pastor’s eyes welled up with tears of joy as he bid the woman goodbye. He realized she had a better grasp of heaven than he did, and knew something better was coming. At the funeral, when people asked him why she was holding a fork, the pastor told them of the conversation he had with the woman before she died. He said he could not stop thinking about the fork, and knew they probably would not be able to stop thinking about it either. He was right.“Keep Your Fork.  The best is yet to come.”

That is what transfiguration Sunday is all about.  It is a glimpse to this weary world that the best is yet to come.  Elisha disappears in a whirlwind and gives his mantle to another, who will speak, lead and be apart of new life in Israel.   Jesus takes the disciples up the mountain to give them a glimpse of the overwhelming glory of God.  A reminder that the painful goodbye of the cross paved way to the never ending welcome of heaven. 

So, God’s beloved children, if we are going to say goodbye to anything.  Let it be to the ordinary.  Let us say goodbye to our need to be in control.  Goodbye to our ingrained thought that the past was better.  And let us hope and live as if the best is yet to come. 

Live like there's no tomorrow.  Love extravagantly.  Lead a life to be followed.  Oh and keep your forks.  

God's Love and Mine, 

Danielle Kathryn 

Jonah Day

When I moved to Durham in August of 2005, I was quickly introduced to a family that would become, in many ways, my second family.  I was able to babysit Kayla from her first year of life until now.  I was able to watch Preston as a baby and now see him grow into an energetic young boy.  

My last night of babysitting for this family was bittersweet--although not the end.  The evening will forever be dubbed in my heart as Jonah Day!  You see, I arrived and Kayla said, "I am going to have friends over to do a Jonah play. Mom said you might have an idea on how to make a whale."  Sure. Thinking it was simply going to be a blue construction paper puppet.  No.  Kayla continued, "We have to be able to fit inside it."  Seriously? I know why your  mom said I would have an idea...she didn't want to do this! 

So we gathered up some supplies and started to make the teeth.  At one point Kayla said, "I hope this works. We have used a lot of mom's party supplies!"  Although the whale looks like Cookie Monster, they were so excited with the outcome.  They practiced getting inside.  After some acting out the story, the kids put on their "sea creature" pajamas, we snuggled in bed and read the Jonah Story.  Kayla marked, "Jonah Day" on her calendar.  Nothing quite the joy of homemade crafts, exuberant smiles and a full heart.  

Tada! 

Oh now!  The whale is eating my hand! 

God's Love and Mine, 

danielle kathryn

Blessings and Mr. Spock

Here is my sermon from New Year’s Day based on the Aaronic Blessing from  Numbers.

“The Lord bless you and keep you;  the Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you;  the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.”

Move One: Blessings for the Journey

We have arrived.  Where?  Well, physically you have arrived in hard wooden pews. We have arrived at the time of worship where I get your undivided attention for twelve minutes.  Spiritually, we arrived at the manager.  We have lit candles, sang about the Christ-child and welcomed him again into our homes and lives.  Yet, most of the world is celebrating that we have arrived at a new year.  2012 has arrived.  And whether or not we would like to repeat 2011 or prefer to go a bit further back in time, it’s here. 

It seems weird to me that on the beginning of a new year, at the arrival of 2012, our Old Testament reading is a benediction, a blessing, a sending that has been used for centuries in Jewish and Christian communities alike.  Why such a reading at the beginning of the year? 

A closer look will reveal that for the Israelite community, this blessing was giving at both an end and a beginning.  The Israelites has been camped at Mt. Sinai for close a year.  There they had experienced the thrill of receiving the Ten Commandments and the despair of the golden calf.  There, through Moses, God explained the role of priests and the tabernacle.  And now, after a year of “Israelite confirmation program,” they were off, off to begin the next phase of their journey to the Promised Land. 

You see, although we see this blessing as the ending of something, it is really the beginning of something else.  It is not merely the close of our worship service time, but a blessing for the journey of the next hour, day and week.  Just as it was for the Israelites who would be leaving the relative comfort of Sinai, so it is for us who are going to leave the relative comfort of a brick sanctuary for the “wilderness” that is our world.  So on second thought, perhaps this reading is the best way to begin 2012.  We leave 2011 behind, moving forward. What could God possibly have in store for God’s people this year?  If the scriptures are any indication…more than we could dare, ask, dream or imagine. 

Move Two: Getting My Nerd On

This blessing is not only given to us, as Christians on our journey, it was and still is an important part of the Jewish community.  Continuing in the great priestly tradition of Aaron, Moses’ brother, our Jewish brothers and sisters revive these words at the close of their worship as well.  And just as pastors often raise their hands to offer the blessing in our congregations, rabbis do the same…but their hands look a bit different. 

A little like this. 

I know. I know what you’re thinking.  Danielle, that isn’t from the Jews.  It is from Star Trek.  It is from a little bit of both.  Leonard Nimoy, who played Spock on Star Trek, took the Vulcan hand greeting from his days growing up as an orthodox Jew.  Nimoy shares that receiving that blessing from his rabbi as a child left quite an impression on him.  When a hand greeting was needed on Star Trek he knew just want to do. 

So why?  Why does this blessing come with such spock-like greeting? 

The Jewish community is known for what is called Midrash.  It is a form of interpretation and explanation that allows the scriptures to shape each other and for filling in gaps.  In the Song of Songs, it talks about the lover, God, looking upon his love through a lattice.  And so the blessing was mediate in the way.  As if the lover behind a lattice was speaking it through a small space in the fence to his lover. 

It is a beautiful image, but one that begs a bigger question.  Why through something? Cannot God just come to us? 

Move Three: Christmas Morning

The Israelites wondered the same thing.  In fact, in Deuteronomy, which is the book just following our reading this morning, they are as bold to ask, “Can’t you just come to us? Do we need a priest in the middle?” 

In the echo of the Israelites question and our own human wondering about God’s willingness to come, we have Christmas.  The in-breaking of God, the coming of the Christ child.  The answer to the question. 

Can’t you just come to us? 

Yes! 

And it changes everything.  I can’t help but think that it is why the shepherds went with haste to the manger.  Before they would need to go to priest or the temple to encounter, to receive God.  Could it be true that they could see God for themselves?  See the face of God not through a small hole in a latticed fence but full-on, radiant and with their very own eyes.   In fact, Luke makes a point to note that they went from the manager praising God for what they had seen—with their own eyes.  

Think about that for a moment.  God—the creator, sustainer and redeemer of the planet—has come to you.  God is not far off, kept at bay by a fence or mediate through a human, God comes to you, into our mess, God is our Emmanuel, God with us. 

Why does this matter?

Because we are not a people of faith who serve a distant, disengaged

God.  We are not a people of faith who serve a God that only loves some and remains distance from other.  No.  We serve a God who uses humankind to share blessing, but God’s spirit is alive and on the move in each kind word spoke, each hopeful promise, each act of justice.  

Can’t you come to us?

“I have,” answers the voice from the manager.  “I am here.” 

Move Four: I Verb You

So what does our ever-present, real and near God blesses us with? 

The Lord bless you and keep you…To bless testifies to the work of God.  It signifies a divine gift.  To keep is specific blessing given to those with concerns for safety, focusing on God’s sheltering people from evil and its effects.  As the Israelites were entering a new season of wilderness wandering, the words “keep you” where likely more needed than ever. 

Can you hear the Christ child whisper, “My dear one, to whom I’m so close, I will bless you, I will keep you”?

Or perhaps you are hearing the Christ child whisper, “I will make my face shine upon you and be gracious to you?” 

God’s shining face stands in stark contrast to the hidden face of God that many of the Israelites, and us, have felt throughout our journey.   One commentator added,  “You get to see God's face glowing, not glaring! This is a gracious move on God's part to those who are undeserving. Moreover, the whole world is brought into view to experience the effects of God's shining face.  In today's idiom, we might say: God smiles on you.” 

The Christ child whispers once more, “the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.” 

This is perhaps the hardest to believe and yet the most precious part of the blessing.  In a violent world, peace seems a utopian wish.  Yet, the Lord offers it again to us each day.  The Lord gives peace, shalom, that hopes that all creation will be at rest in God, one another and with ourselves.  This peace is not man-made but passes all human understanding.

People of God, welcome to the end of one journey and the beginning of another.  As you journey through 2012, may you know deep in your being that the Christ child has come.  May the Christ child do more than sit on a shelf in a nativity scene, may the you allow the Christ child to animate your daily life, the Spirit of God to infuse your words and fill your actions with love and justice.  As you leave the safety of this brick building, may you be buoyed by the blessing of God and enter the wilderness of our world with boldness and fearlessness.  And may you remember, that God is not fenced into merely peering through a lattice at his loves, but right here, in our midst. 

“The Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you.  The Lord look upon you with favor, and give you peace.”  Amen.